Reuben Gold Thwaites | |
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| President of theAmerican Library Association | |
| In office 1899–1900 | |
| Preceded by | William Coolidge Lane |
| Succeeded by | Henry James Carr |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1853-05-15)May 15, 1853 Dorchester, Massachusetts, U.S. |
| Died | October 22, 1913(1913-10-22) (aged 60) Madison, Wisconsin, U.S. |
| Parents |
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| Occupation | Journalist, librarian, historian |
Reuben Gold Thwaites (/θweɪts/ May 15, 1853 – October 22, 1913) was an American librarian and historical writer.
Thwaites was born in 1853 inDorchester, Massachusetts. His parents were William George and Sarah Bibbs Thwaites, who had moved to Dorchester in 1850 fromYorkshire, England.[1] The family moved toOmro, Wisconsin, in 1866, where Reuben worked on the farm, studied college-level coursework and reported for the OshkoshTimes. In 1874–1875 he studied English literature, economic history and international law atYale University. Thwaites studied at Yale as aspecial student, and beyond that never formally studied at the collegiate level,[2] although later in his life he was awarded an LLD from theUniversity of Wisconsin.[3]
From 1876 to 1886, Thwaites was managing editor of theWisconsin State Journal, atMadison. In 1885 he became assistant corresponding secretary of theState Historical Society of Wisconsin, and whenLyman Draper retired as secretary 1887, Thwaites was appointed to succeed him.[3] While leading the historical society he edited volumes XI-XIX of theWisconsin Historical Collections,The Jesuit Relations,Early Western Travels, 1748–1846, andOriginal Journals of Lewis and Clark. He also authored a number of papers and monographs including a biography ofDaniel Boone,[4] a biography ofJacques Marquette,[5] and a history of colonial North America.[6]
Thwaites is credited[by whom?] with raising the scholarship surrounding theLewis and Clark Expedition to a new level. Previous to the editions that were published under his leadership, general knowledge as well as serious scholarship were for the most part hampered by legend. Thwaites discovered and uncovered various additional original sources, including the journal ofCharles Floyd, the only member of the Corps of Discovery to die on the expedition. By including these disparate sources and tying them together in a cohesive set of volumes, the nature and importance of the expedition became more generally recognized.[7]
In 1892 Thwaites was elected a member of theAmerican Antiquarian Society,[8] in 1899 he was president of theAmerican Library Association, and in 1910 he was named president of theMississippi Valley Historical Association.
Thwaites was well known for not being a mere academic, but rather as a historian who attempted to understand history by experiencing those aspects that he could, and bringing those experiences to life.[9] In 1888 he took canoe trips on theWisconsin,Fox andRock rivers.[10] In 1892 he undertook a bicycle tour of England, and in 1903 rowed down theOhio River.
Thwaites' approach and work has been questioned, to some degree by his contemporaries[11] but more so in modern times, especially by historianDonald Jackson, who called for a more thorough work of Lewis & Clark's manuscripts.[12][13] His summaries include phraseology such as "[Europeans] left the most luxurious country in Europe to seek shelter in the foul and unwelcome huts of one of the most wretched races of man."[14] When editing theJesuit Relations, he included background information that is generally credible and thorough with respect to events and Europe, but is far less thorough in regard to the disruptions from disease and other sources that the indigenous people themselves were facing.[15] In other words, the criticism is that the original works were insensitive, and Thwaites failed to fully account for the prejudicial and inaccurate reporting in theRelations. However, Thwaites is also recognized as being the pioneer in an approach to using the Relations that is continuing to be enriched by modern scholarship, and so in a sense he started a process by which his very work could be corrected and improved as historians learn more about the periods in question.[16]
Thwaites died in 1913 of heart failure after a short hospitalization. He was survived by his wife Jessie, whom he married in 1882,[17] and sonFredrik (1883-1961), renownedglacial geologist andgeomorphologist.[18]
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| Non-profit organization positions | ||
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| Preceded by | President of the American Library Association 1899–1900 | Succeeded by |
